Marking International Girls in ICT Day 2023 #GirlsinICT
Today , 27th April 2023, marks International Girls in ICT Day, drawing attention to the critical need for more girls and women in the ICT sector. #GirlsinICTDay
For girls and young women to thrive in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, they need to acquire skills to become both ICT users and creators in the digital world. Led by the International Telecoms Union (ITU) and supported by UN Women, International Girls in ICT Day takes place today, 27th April 2023. The theme for this year is “Digital Skills for Life.”
Rather than hear the views of some old blokes at the ITAM Review, we thought you would be far more interested in the views of the many, MANY successful women leading the way in ITAM. So, without further ado, I will hand over to:
- Julia Veall, Vodafone
- Sherry Irwin, TAM-Inc
- Cyndi Tackett, Flexera
- Victoria Barber, SHI
- Becky Trevino, Snow Software
The theme for Girls in ICT Day 2023 is “Digital Skills for Life.” How well do you think the ITAM industry is doing to attract women and girls into the sector?
Becky Trevino, Snow Software
“ITAM could be doing a better job attracting women and girls into the tech sector. The core benefits of a mature and strong ITAM program is good visibility into your IT estate that enables you to know what software and cloud services are running in your environment. With this strong visibility in place, ITAM professionals enable organizations to better manage IT costs and mitigate risks. With this core value proposition, ITAM could attract women with a strong background in project management and finance to the field. Instead we tend to focus more on ensuring someone has a more traditional background in IT. While that is understandable – most organizations want someone with an understanding of key applications – traditional IT has a small percentage of women. Thus, if we keep looking in that same space to add new women to ITAM we are not going to expand our talent pool. Rather we should look to other fields that are adjacent to our work like finance and then teach strong IT skills to these individuals. You see FinOps succeeding with this approach.”
Julia Veall, Vodafone
“I don’t see a shift in the number of women entering the ITAM sector as the job opportunities still remain unknown to school leavers and graduates. All my team have moved to ITAM after having other roles, although one of my team said they do see ITAM as a sector which is growing and has opportunities for long term careers which is good.”
Sherry Irwin, TAM-Inc
“Overall, quite well compared to other ICT disciplines. Actually, for many years, SAM (‘soft’ assets) was dominated by women – unusual in ICT; attributed to women’s typical strengths – attention to detail, multi-tasking, interpersonal/relationship skills and more.
Coincident with expanded focus on hardware (‘hard’ assets) – i.e., ITAM and key drivers such as security, ITAM has become more appealing to men.”
Cyndi Tackett, Flexera
“Flexera is fortunate to work with a large population of strong and talented professional women so it seems like ITAM attracts top talent. As with the theme of International Girls in ICT Day, we need to constantly advocate for and develop young women to go into the field.”
Victoria Barber, SHI
“We tend to see more women in ITAM than most IT disciplines. It’s still male dominated, but less so than other IT disciplines – but it isn’t necessarily a career that girls (or boys come to that!) choose from the outset. It’s often something that people fall into by accident and stay in as they’re passionate about it. It’s also a great route into the tech industry for anyone who doesn’t have a tech background from an education perspective. ITAM is as much a business discipline as an IT one, so a great way for people with business, financial or legal backgrounds to engage with IT. Or even those of us with arts degrees and a career editing travel guides… while it isn’t easy to see the connection, the project and stakeholder management skills I learned in the publishing industry, along with the eye for detail that made me a successful copy editor were skills that transferred well to building an ITAM function and scrutinising the details of hardware and software contracts!”
If you see any barriers for girls entering the IT/ITAM sector, what are they, and how could they be overcome?
Becky Trevino, Snow Software
“The biggest barrier is an understanding of the technology. Today’s IT environments are significantly more complex than they were 10 years ago. We have on-premises, SaaS applications, and hybrid cloud environments that make everything more complex. When you are new to the field, the lack of understanding about the space becomes a barrier to success. For ITAM to not only attract more women but the next generation of ITAM professionals, the field must develop strong rotation and mentorship programs within IT to teach skills to those new to the field.”
Julia Veall, Vodafone
“Many still see it as a male centric sector and that they might have to work twice as hard to be recognised and get promoted. We need more women in the Industry to tell their stories and take time out to help get girls into the sector, plus provide mentoring at all levels.”
Sherry Irwin, TAM-Inc
“There is a perception that ITAM is a technical discipline (vs. management); and that girls are not interested or capable in technology. This can be overcome by properly defining and positioning ITAM.”
Cyndi Tackett, Flexera
“Spreading the knowledge that the ITAM field exists and the value that ITAM brings to the organization.”
Victoria Barber, SHI
“Sadly it’s often about the perception that seems to develop in the mid-teens that tech is a ‘male’ discipline. We need to keep promoting ITAM and IT careers, showcasing diverse role-models who talk about why they are passionate about what they do.”
What could be done to attract more girls and young women to pursue STEM education, and ultimately STEM careers?
Julia Veall, Vodafone
“Schools are doing a good job in introducing STEM into the curriculum, but its very focused on coding, web design and other flashy jobs and careers. There is very little career education on more supportive ITSM careers and how these can provide value to your organisation.”
Cyndi Tackett, Flexera
“Continue to advocate for women in technology by demonstrating role models, mentors, and successful careers. And attracting girls to STEM skill sets early in their education.”
Victoria Barber, SHI
“Showing them the real-world applications of what we do, in a way that is relevant to their own experience. Young people use tech every day, so we need to relate it to the way they use it and make it interesting. It’s also important that they understand how STEM education can benefit them regardless of their career path. Showcasing examples of innovative technology from a range of industries that appeal to young people, and showing them how STEM education and careers will enable them to get involved in things they are passionate about – whether that’s creating solutions to environmental problems, curing diseases, making films, law, architecture or even publishing – showing how STEM careers are key to those industries will make them more relevant.”
Are STEM skills essential for ITAM, or are other skills, such as stakeholder engagement and project management, more important for a successful ITAM career?
Julia Veall, Vodafone
“STEM is not essential, more important is an analytical mind, someone who questions the detail, wants to find the answers and has a determination to push for the data they need to do their role. ITAM roles are also evolving and diverse skills are important, such as stakeholder management, business relationship management, basic finance skills, project and program management and strategic thinking.”
Sherry Irwin, TAM-Inc
“Other skills are definitely required. Fundamentally, ITAM is a management discipline requiring business management skills: communication, relationship building, finance, legal etc.”
Cyndi Tackett, Flexera
“A firm understanding of different vendor pricing levers like storage, compute, cores, clusters is extremely valuable to understand the implications of technology decisions. Being able to communicate/translate complex concepts to stakeholders is a key skill to demonstrate business outcomes.”
Victoria Barber, SHI
“Based on my own experience, I’d say that while STEM skills are useful, ITAM is a discipline that requires a broad mix of skills. A basic understanding of tech that allows you to engage with stakeholders with credibility, project management, basic understanding of contract terms & conditions, good financial literacy and most importantly attention to detail and analytical skills. I’d also say an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a lot of persistence come in handy.”
What advice would you give to a girl who is considering a career in IT/ITAM? What have you learned during your career that you wished you’d known earlier?
Becky Trevino, Snow Software
“My biggest advice to someone considering a role in IT would be to understand what you want to create and build. IT is ever-changing. As soon as you master one skill (e.g. virtual machines), a new technology (e.g. containers) comes in and disrupts everything you just learned. When you approach IT with a learning mindset then you feel ok that you are never going to know everything. Your goal is simply to understand what you want to build at this moment and to use the skills you have to do it and to learn along the way. I wish I’d understood this sooner. It would have empowered me to more brave about taking risks earlier in my career.”
Julia Veall, Vodafone
Talk to women who already have a career in ITAM, look for a mentor who can guide you, even if they work in another sector or company. Apply for roles even if you don’t match them perfectly. I’ve learnt that I need to go get what I want and make things happen for myself. Find the right people who will support you and stay away from the ones who don’t have your best interests at heart.
Sherry Irwin, TAM-Inc
“Find and leverage mentor(s) – in both ITAM and business management. In my experience, women don’t do this well, if at all – I certainly didn’t. Take advantage of the many ITAM courses and other resources now available and network with peers and industry experts for a broader view of ITAM value, practices, challenges etc. Lastly, maintain an external (industry) view of relevant technology and other trends, vendor practices etc. relevant to ITAM, in addition to the internal view.”
Cyndi Tackett, Flexera
“Quickly embrace new categories of spend like SaaS, containers, and cloud to keep your skill sets relevant as technology advances. What have you learned during your career that you wished you’d known earlier? Negotiation skills to actualize savings from ITAM.”
Victoria Barber, SHI
“If you think it’s interesting, then go for it. The decisions you make now won’t limit your options later. Everything you learn will be useful, even if not in the way you expect. Enjoy the process of learning, of trying new things. If it doesn’t work out you can take the skills and experience on to something else.”
What does International Girls in ICT Day 2023 mean to you?
Julia Veall, Vodafone
“Girls in ICT Day 2023 is an opportunity to stop and think about how many girls are undertaking careers in IT, to celebrate those who are and to consider how to encourage more into this field”
Sherry Irwin, TAM-Inc
“It is an opportunity to highlight ICT as a possible career choice (pros/cons), and identify resources (including people) that may provide more information and guidance.
Cyndi Tackett, Flexera
“I love the theme for Girls in ICT Day 2023 being “Digital Skills for Life” and admire this organization for promoting girls in STEM.”
Victoria Barber, SHI
“It’s a great opportunity to promote STEM education and careers to girls and reinforce that this is something that women are and can be successful in.”
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